The University of Macau (UM) Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) has received approval to join China’s national system of co-working space. This is testament to the Ministry of Science and Technology’s recognition of industry-academia development at UM and the central government’s encouragement and support for the development of technological innovations as well as the commercialisation of research result in Macao.
Last year, experts from the ministry’s Torch High Technology Industry Development Centre visited the CIE under UM’s Institute of Collaboration Innovation (ICI). According to their opinions, the centre has all the necessary conditions for serving as a national co-working space. Recently, the centre has been included in China’s national system of national co-working space. Co-working space refers to an innovation and entrepreneurship platform that provides work, network, social exchange, and resources for innovators and entrepreneurs. Since its establishment, the centre has been actively promoting interactions between UM and other parties, including the government, schools, enterprises, incubators, venture capital institutions, as well as entrepreneurial mentors, in order to create an environment that can boost ‘innovative thinking, innovative ability, and innovative entrepreneurship’ and to promote collaboration between industry, universities, and research institutes.
Industry-academia collaboration is a systematic project, which requires the expansion of the original organisational boundaries and the establishment of platforms to integrate social resources as well as collaborative innovation in order to encourage and support researchers to make substantial contributions to economic development. The major work of the CIE is to assist teachers and students in implementing their creative ideas and to provide them with an industry-academia support platform for innovation and entrepreneurship, so as to develop a mechanism that produces a new type of professionals and transform Macao into an innovative society. Currently, the centre has three main functions, namely: (1) cultivating innovative and entrepreneurial professionals; (2) establishing a selection mechanism based on entrepreneurial projects; (3) providing software and hardware support for project incubation.
The CIE’s incubation programme focuses on the research results in outstanding disciplines and projects with industrialisation potential at UM, in order to maximise its advantages and initiate hard technology incubation services to strengthen research development and knowledge transfer, in order to increase the impact of UM’s research results. In the future, UM will continue to allocate resources to providing entrepreneurial support and discovering outstanding entrepreneurial teams, nurturing innovative professionals in Macao, and participating in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in response to President Xi Jinping’s instruction: ‘Nurture more professionals who love China and Macao, produce more achievements in science and technology, promote economic diversification and sustainable development in Macao, and support the development of the Greater Bay Area.’
As the only international comprehensive public university in Macao, UM has over the years received support from the central government, the Macao SAR government, and all sectors of society, and for this reason the university is responsible for building a better Macao through science and education. In line with China’s development strategies, including the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative and the Greater Bay Area initiative, UM will continue to allocate resources to promote economic diversification in Macao. In addition, through cultivating and strengthening new industries, promoting the transformation of technological innovation, and promoting education development, UM will take advantage of its strengths in innovation to support the sustainable development of the SAR, promote the transformation and application of scientific research results, and take a lead in innovation and technology development in Macao.
澳門大學創新創業中心獲批為“國家級眾創空間”，體現了國家科技部對澳大產學研發展的充分肯定，也代表了中央政府對澳門科技創新發展和科研技術轉化的鼓勵和支持。
國家科學技術部火炬高技術產業開發中心的專家於去年對澳大協同創新研究院的創新創業中心作出審核後，指中心經已達到國家備案眾創空間的標準，最近批准將中心納入國家備案眾創空間服務體系。眾創空間是指為大眾創新創業提供工作、網絡、社交和資源的創新創業平台。澳大創新創業中心自成立後，積極推動大學與政府、學校、企業、孵化器、創投機構、創業導師等之間的互動，大力營造有利於“創新思維、創新能力、創新創業”的環境，以推動產學研發展。
產學研建設是一項系統工程，要求擴張原有的組織邊界，搭建平台整合社會資源，進行協同創新，鼓勵和支持科研人員對經濟發展做出實質貢獻。澳大創新創業中心主要工作是重點輔助師生將其創意理念轉化成實踐，為其提供一個創新創業的產學研支援平台，在促進產業發展的同時也形成新型人才培養機制，全力培養創新創業人才，使澳門成為一個創新社會。現時中心的主要功能有3項，分別為：（1）培育創新創業型的人才；（2）以創業項目爲出發點，建立選拔機制；（3）提供項目入駐孵化的軟硬體支援。
澳大創新創業中心的入駐孵化計劃重點投放在校內優秀學科的研究成果及具備產業化潛力的項目，以充分發揮自身學科優勢並開展硬科技孵化服務，以加強大學的研究及知識轉移方面的發展，冀提升科研成果的影響力。未來澳大將繼續重點投放資源到創業支援及發掘更優秀的創業團隊，培養及幫助澳門青年成為積極創新及銳意進取的高端人才，深入地參與粵港澳大灣區的發展，以響應習近平主席指示：“培養更多愛國愛澳人才，創造更多科技成果，助力澳門經濟適度多元可持續發展，助力粵港澳大灣區建設。”
澳大作為本澳唯一的國際化綜合性公立大學，長期以來受到中央及澳門特區政府和社會各界的關心和大力支持，一直以科教強澳為己任。澳大將會繼續投放更多的資源，積極配合國家戰略，抓緊“一帶一路”及粵港澳大灣區建設的重要契機，促進經濟多元化發展。此外，通過培育壯大新型產業、促進科技創新轉型，以及推動教育發展，澳大將會結合自身優勢，努力為特區可持續發展培育創新源頭、促進科研成果轉化和應用，引領澳門科技創新發展新局面。
UM’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has received approval to serve as a national co-working space
澳大創新創業中心獲批為”國家級眾創空間”